[ MAYOR ]
WAILUKU >> The two men in a runoff for mayor of Maui County are taking a serious look at the environmental vote. Green vote figures
in Maui mayoral race
By Gary T. Kubota
gkubota@starbulletin.comIt was difficult for Mayor James "Kimo" Apana and his challenger Alan Arakawa not to notice the votes cast for environmentalist Robert Parsons, who finished third on Saturday.
Parsons received more than 13 percent of the mayoral vote, enough to potentially tilt the general election in favor of either Apana or Arakawa.
Parsons, who was endorsed by the Sierra Club of Hawaii and Hawaii Coalition of Conservation Voters, said he has not decided whether to endorse a mayoral candidate.
"It's too early," he said. "We will obviously have discussions with both of them to make a determination like that."
Apana, 40, said the voting for Parsons indicates people are worried about the environment. "We realize we need to take a hard look," Apana said.
Apana said he has been told some environmentalists plan to vote for him because of some of the things he has done, including a proposed Charter amendment to set aside 1 percent of real property taxes to buy land for open space.
Arakawa, 51, said Apana has been "very, very pro-development."
"Ours is a moderate environmental stance. Ours is a moderate planning stance," Arakawa said.
Arakawa said he has received six to seven times fewer campaign donations than Apana, who has raised more than $700,000.
But Arakawa said his campaign will show what he has done for the environment and the county.
In the primary election Saturday, Apana received 12,388, or 44.3 percent of the votes, followed by Arakawa with 10,162, or 36.4 percent, Parsons with 3,819, or 13.7 percent, and Bill Riddick with 309, or 1.1 percent.
Apana defeated Arakawa 22,350-20,101 in 1998.
James "Kimo" Apana vs. Alan Arakawa
Key to victory: Apana will stress his administration's accomplishments and its vision for Maui County. Arakawa says his campaign will rely upon hard work rather than financial contributions from big corporations.
